Patients ‘at risk’ at two Doncaster GP surgeries

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Published:12:00Saturday 29 November 2014

Two GP surgeries in Doncaster could be placing patients at risk of harm, according to new figures.

The Care Quality Commission has produced Ofsted-style league tables to allow patients to check the quality of care they are receiving – and both the flagship 8-8 Flying Scotsman Health Centre and the Rossington Practice were placed in the highest risk category.

The commission, which is the independent regulator of all health and social care services in England, ranked 7,276 practices out of the total 7,661 in England, and revealed 861 practices were in the band one ‘highest concern’ category.

At the 8-8 Health Centre, commissioners flagged up concerns about the number of antibacterial prescriptions offered to patients, while there were also concerns about the number of female patients who had undergone cervical screening appointments in the preceding five years.

Meanwhile, at Rossington, the report said there were concerns about the percentage of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with a record of alcohol consumption. There were also concerns at the number of patients who were happy with the care and concern delivered by their GP.

The only other surgery in the Doncaster area to score badly was The Tickhill Surgery in St Mary’s Road which was placed in band two.

Karen Curran, head of primary care for South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw at NHS England, said: “We welcome this report which shows that despite the increased pressure on GPs there are so many good practices. The new data will also help local GPs to understand where improvements can be made.”